The present invention provides an apparatus and method for handling cylindrical objects. Such objects may be very heavy, bulky, and awkward to handle with the known manually-operated apparatus. Such cylindrical objects include cylindrical tanks which hold gas and liquids. Such cylindrical objects may further include other cylindrical objects such as artillery rounds, pipe segments, and similar objects which are cylindrical in shape, generally heavy and awkward to handle.
By way of example, tanks utilized for storing and transporting compressed gas are routinely transported by welders to job locations. Regulations of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration require that compressed gas cylinders shall be secured in an upright (i.e., vertical) position. However, if supported and held together by a structurally adequate means, gas cylinders may be transported horizontally.
Maneuvering cylindrical objects presents difficulties, particularly when it is desired to move an object back and forth between a standing position on a floor or other horizontal surface and a horizontal position on a raised shelf or rack. Many times, cylindrical tanks are moved by an individual by tilting the tank such that a small edge of the bottom of the tank engages the ground surface, and then “rolling” the tank along that edge, with the tank precariously leaning off vertical. When this method is employed, it is not uncommon for the tank to tilt too far and fall to the ground, presenting a hazard to personnel and to equipment. Raising a cylindrical object, such as a compressed gas tank, to place it on a shelf, rack or vehicle presents additional risks of back injury or the cylindrical object falling and causing injury to personnel and/or property.
Devices exist, such as wheeled hand carts having straps for maintaining the cylindrical object in attachment to the hand cart, which facilitate movement of the cylindrical object along the ground or upon a floor surface. Some devices further provide relatively elaborate or complicated mechanisms for lifting the cylindrical object. However, embodiments of the presently disclosed invention provide a secured attachment to the hand cart for movement along the ground or upon a floor surface, and also provide a relatively simply manually operated mechanism which provides a mechanical advantage for vertical movement of a cylindrical object back and forth between a vertical position on a horizontal surface, such as a floor, and a horizontal position on a shelf or rack.